


Of Love, War, Qudditch, and Everything in Between

by setmeonfireplease



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Childhood Sweethearts, Friendship/Love, M/M, Oliver and Percy are easily the most obsessive people in the series so it only makes sense, Protective Oliver Wood, actually he's overprotective but whatever, borderline codependency, mutual obsession
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:14:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26953438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/setmeonfireplease/pseuds/setmeonfireplease
Summary: Once they had started dating, Percy didn’t think that breaking up was a possibility. They were meant to be together, always.Six years, four months, and twelve days later, he ended things.
Relationships: Perciver, Percy Weasley/Oliver Wood
Comments: 4
Kudos: 47





	1. Part One

Percy Weasley was nineteen years old when he broke up with the love of his life. Oliver Wood was the love of his life. Percy knew this as an intimate fact, as though it were his own name or the freckles etched into his very skin. He’s always known Oliver has been it for him. People often talk about that moment when they realize that their one was the one. Percy isn’t quite sure he’s ever had that moment. It’s always just been one his constants - the sky is blue, the grass is green, the burrow will always smell like sunshine and his mother’s cooking, and Percy was deeply and irrevocably in love with Oliver.

Once they had started dating, Percy didn’t think that breaking up was a possibility. They were meant to be together, always.

Six years, four months, and twelve days later, he ended things.

There was something hollow in his chest and he was quickly beginning to realize that no amount of fire whiskey was going to fill it. Not for the first time, he desperately wished he could go to his mother. He wanted to tuck into her side and be held by her as he cried. He hadn’t been able to stop crying since he forced Oliver out of their once shared apartment. He hadn’t even been able to make it to the bed. He was simply sitting on the kitchen floor, knees pressed tightly against his chest and a bottle of fire whiskey clutched in his fist.

It had happened so fast. Percy couldn’t help but confront him when he had discovered the letters Oliver had been hiding, messages between him and the members of that ridiculous Order - Merlin what the hell was he thinking? He was putting the both of them and everything they worked for at risk. And for what? All because some boy they knew in school claimed that a long-dead wizard was back? It was ludicrous. It was impossible. Percy could hardly believe Oliver would ever put that before their future. His mind was still struggling to process it. Half of him expected Oliver to apparate back any moment and beg for forgiveness on his hands and knees as he often did after their spats. Of course, none of their spats had ever ended in Percy throwing Oliver out. He hadn’t even given him time to pack properly. Percy could still see many of Oliver’s things thrown messily around the living area of their small apartment. He never did clean up after himself, no matter how often Percy nagged him.

Oliver was the only person in the world who didn’t seem to mind Percy’s nagging. In fact, Percy had long since suspected that Oliver secretly enjoyed Percy’s nagging. There were days Percy felt that Oliver loved nothing more than to piss him off. No matter how much Oliver would deny it, his crooked, half hanging smirk would always give him away. Percy could read Oliver like a book.

 _So how did you miss this?_ Percy thought bitterly. _How did you miss your boyfriend sneaking around behind your back, participating in the very organization railing against everything you worked for - everything he saw you struggle and cry for, the very thing you left your bloody family for -_

Percy took another swig of fire whiskey, blanching at the taste. It burned his throat and twisted his stomach into knots but he could not deny the comfort that the warmth slowly spreading through his body gave him. If he got drunk enough, maybe he could confuse it for one of his mother’s hugs. Percy closed his eyes and forced himself to take another drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thank you so much for reading! If you have the time, please leave a comment. I hope you all have a wonderful day!


	2. Part Two

Valentine’s Day was a boring holiday, Oliver Wood had decided. Besides two shy, awkward confessions and one poorly written love letter, it was nothing of note. Of course, he had to admit it was a surprise to receive anything at all. Last year he could have sworn he was invisible on Valentine’s Day. This year, he was Gryffindor’s quidditch team’s youngest ever keeper. He supposed that made a difference to some girls. In the end it didn’t matter who it made a difference to. Between quidditch and school, Oliver spent what little free time he had with his best mate in the entire world, Percy Weasley. He couldn’t foresee ever choosing to spend time with anyone over Percy, let alone some silly girl who couldn’t even write a proper poem.

 _That’ll change soon enough_ , Lionel Spinnet, his quidditch captain, said with a laugh while Charlie Weasley, one of Percy’s older brothers, frowned behind him. Oliver thought that Lionel was most probably wrong, but nodded along like he was a wise man. He _was_ his quidditch captain after all, and he took quite the chance when taking on Oliver. Keepers needed to be huge, and while there was no denying that Oliver was tall for his age, he looked all too similar to a house-elf when put up against the other houses’ keepers.

A week after Valentine’s Day was Oliver’s twelfth birthday. That was decidedly not boring. In fact, if you asked Oliver, it was his favorite holiday. Even better than Christmas, which was Percy’s. It was a holiday he didn’t have to share with anyone else, one where he was the only one who received any gifts or attention. And gifts he did receive. One from each member of his team - Oliver supposed being the youngest had some perks - and a few from some of his classmates in his year. His parents had sent several by owl, with a very loving note attached. Each present was, of course, quidditch related. Some of his favorites were a pair of new quidditch gloves as a present split between Lionel and Charlie. A book on quidditch plays and the navy blue dress robes of Puddlemore united, with the Keeper’s number emblazoned on the back. Best of all, a brand new broom from his mother and father. It wasn’t top of the line, but it was damn near close and Oliver was unable to wipe the grin off his face all day.

Percy had yet to give him a gift. Oliver refused to let it bother him. He knew the Weasley’s didn’t have much money, and the fact that Charlie had even managed to get him a gift at all should have been enough. A small part of him had just wished they had given that money to Percy. _Percy_ was his best friend. Not Charlie. The gloves were nice but Oliver couldn’t fight the feeling that if Percy had given them to him, he would have cherished them all the more. Still, he wouldn’t let it bother him. Percy was being especially kind to him, letting him ramble on and on about Puddlemore’s obvious superiority in the British and Irish league without any interruptions at all. They went to class, and during lunch, he even managed to convince Percy that they should eat in the Great Hall instead of the bloody library. After dinner, his team sang him happy birthday in the common room over a small cupcake that Lionel had convinced one of the kitchen elves to bake. It was delicious and by the time he made his way up to his dorm, he swore the day couldn’t get any more perfect.

The dorm was shared between Oliver and Percy. Their year was especially small, and they were the only two boys to be sorted into Gryffindor. At first, Oliver had been disappointed. Over time, he came to be grateful for it. This dorm was his and Percy’s special place. He liked having a special place with Percy. He flopped down onto his bed as Percy began to dig around in his trunk for something.

“What are you looking for, Perce?” Oliver asked, glancing over. Percy stilled for a moment, before sighing.

“Your gift. I could have sworn I left it in here,” He said, continuing to search. Oliver shot up, eyes wide.

“You got me a gift?” He asked. Percy turned to look at him, a small frown etched into his face.

“Of course I did,” He said. “You’re my best mate.”

“Oh,” Oliver said, smiling a little. He loved it when Percy said they were best mates. Not that they really had much of a choice. Being the only two Gryffindor boys in their year forced them to spend a lot of time together. Oliver liked to think that even if there were fifty boys in their year, Percy and he would still be best mates. He flopped back down as Percy continued to search.

“Found it!” Percy cried out triumphantly as he stood up, hands hidden behind his back. “Normally I’m a bit more organized -”

Oliver snorted. “Quite the understatement there, Perce.”

Percy rolled his eyes before continuing. “But you’re always digging through my trunk so I was worried you would find it.”

“I am not always digging around in your trunk!” Oliver protested, sitting up once more.

“Yes, you are. Every time you lose your scarf or forget to turn in your school robes to be cleaned, you go digging around in my trunk to borrow mine.”

Oliver had the decency to at least look a little ashamed, even if he didn’t entirely feel that way. Nothing of Percy’s was off-limits to Oliver, just as nothing as Oliver’s was off-limits to Percy. Their lives had become entwined, the way fingers do when they interlock.

“Well let’s see it then,” Oliver said after a moment. It was Percy’s turn to look a little bashful. He took a step back, averting his eyes downward. Oliver could see the light blush spreading across his pale, freckled cheeks. Something warmed in his chest. Softly, he said, “Perce, I’m sure it’s great.”

Percy looked incredulous but slowly begun to move his hands from around his back. The perfectly wrapped present was square, and Oliver snatched it out his hands and tore it open before Percy could finish presenting it.

“Oliver!” Percy scolded though Oliver couldn’t tell if he was upset by him ruining the wrapping or snatching away the present. Probably both.

“A book!” Olivier cried out, before frowning toward Percy. “A book?”

“Y-yeah,” Percy stammered, and his face was turning red once more.

Oliver looked blankly at Percy. “Is it about quidditch?”

“No, it is not about quidditch!” Percy said with indignation, his voice raising an octave. “It’s a muggle book!”

“Where on Earth did you get a muggle book?”

“I got it when my father took me to this muggle bookshop in one of his attempts to learn more about muggles and this one was on sale, so he bought it for me. I read it in one night. It’s my favorite book, ever.”

“Ever?”

“Ever,” Percy said with a firm nod. Oliver looked down at the book. The cover was pretty. He ran his calloused fingertips over the engraved title.

“A wrinkle in time,” He said to himself. He looked back up at Percy, who was wringing his fingers anxiously. “What’s it about?”

“Space travel. It’s like magic! Except, it’s not it’s -”

“It’s science,” Oliver said with a laugh. “Bloody hell, I should have mum tutor you over the summer.”

Oliver expected a snarky comeback. Instead, he had Percy looking at him with wide, vulnerable eyes asking “Do you like it?”

“Course I do,” Oliver said. “Where’d you even find another copy of a muggle book around here? Did you have your parents send it to you?”

Percy flushed. “N-no. It’s my copy.”

Oliver suddenly felt as though something was caught in his throat. His mouth dried out. That warm feeling in his chest began to stir.

“I’m sorry! I couldn’t afford another copy! Merlin this is so embarrassing, here I’ll take it back and I’ll write to my mum and dad and ask if they could please -”

“No!” Oliver said suddenly, clutching the book tightly to his chest. “No! I want your copy.”

“You don’t have to accept it because you feel bad -”

“I don’t feel bad. I want it.”

Percy squinted his eyes and stared at him, hard. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Oliver insisted. Percy continued to regard him with suspicion for a moment longer, before sighing in relief.

“Thank Godric,” He said. “I had written a note to you in it, I would have hated to take it back after that.”

“You did?” Oliver asked, already opening the book. On the inside of the cover, written in ink was scrawled

_Happy Birthday!_

_I firmly believe everyone deserves a favorite book, and I hope this one can be yours too._

_Your best mate,_

_Percy Weasley_

Whatever had been stirring in Oliver’s chest was exploding. He read the note three more times, before looking back up at Percy. There was a soft smile on his face, and in the candlelight, it looked as though he were glowing.

Oliver had been twelve for exactly fifteen hours, ten minutes, and thirty-four seconds when he realized he was going to marry Percy Weasley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you have time, please leave a comment. My tumblr is punk-rock-cry-baby if you wanna send me asks, requests, etc. I hope you all have a wonderful day!


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